Lessons from the Ebola Outbreak: Action Items for Emerging Infectious Disease Preparedness and Response

Abstract

As the Ebola outbreak in West Africa wanes, it is time for the international scientific community to reflect on how to improve the detection of and coordinated response to future epidemics. Our interdisciplinary team identified key lessons learned from the Ebola outbreak that can be clustered into three areas: environmental conditions related to early warning systems, host characteristics related to public health, and agent issues that can be addressed through the laboratory sciences. In particular, we need to increase zoonotic surveillance activities, implement more effective ecological health interventions, expand prediction modeling, support medical and public health systems in order to improve local and international responses to epidemics, improve risk communication, better understand the role of social media in outbreak awareness and response, produce better diagnostic tools, create better therapeutic medications, and design better vaccines. This list highlights research priorities and policy actions the global community can take now to be better prepared for future emerging infectious disease outbreaks that threaten global public health and security.

Evidence Decision-Making Policy Practice in Emerging Pandemics and Epidemics Threats Preparedness and Response Operations in Africa

“…Further, the potential to demonstrate quick wins and impact was dependent on the nature and quality of the existing relationships between researchers, community, policy-makers and other stakeholders' collaboration. As such, it is clear from this study along with our experiences of working in or evaluating different programs in infectious diseases and emerging epidemics (malaria, HIV, Ebola), that collaboration does not occur in a vacuum or without some prompting or promoting across Africa [2,3,16,20,28]. Equally, it cannot be assumed that either researchers or knowledge users have weak knowledge and skills translation capabilities to be western expert or consultant collaborators in improving data collection, reporting, use and disseminate; mechanism for evaluation and monitoring systems of indicators to fit the new focus on priority outcomes including addressing cross-cutting issues and challenges [1,4,7,29].…”

“…These are grouped based on the disease or health epidemics nature, extend, ecological and geolocation, burden and impacts of implemented programs or projects on morbidity and mortality/fatality reduction or prevention; as well as on poverty and inequity alleviation within the vulnerable population and citizenry over time [16,17].…”

Taking forward a ‘One Health’ approach for turning the tide against the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus and other zoonotic pathogens with epidemic potential

“…International health agencies were too sluggish to affect an early resolution. There were no rapid point of care diagnostics, no specific treatments, no M a n u s c r i p t 9 vaccines, and insufficient medical care facilities, teams and trained staff and international responses were initially uncoordinated and unable to adapt policies and advice for a very different expression of the disease. As a consequence aggressive community responses to inappropriate health interventions, foreign aid workers and researchers unfamiliar with local cultural and health systems norms were common and life threatening (10).…”

“…As a consequence aggressive community responses to inappropriate health interventions, foreign aid workers and researchers unfamiliar with local cultural and health systems norms were common and life threatening (10). Research to find and evaluate new treatments and vaccines conducted during the EVD epidemic was also slow to start and was dominated by foreign groups with little involvement of local scientists (7,9).…”

Research agenda on persistent and unpredictable threat of influenza and emerging respiratory infections: a public health necessity in the Eastern Mediterranean Region

“…The Ebola virus disease (EVD) epidemic in Africa from 2014 to 2015, while not a respiratory disease, serves as an example of the impact of a major infectious disease outbreak in modern times. Moreover, it provides a number of lessons for the public health community, including the importance of investing in research for better preparedness (5).…”